New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) In less than 48 hours, the Samajwadi Party Friday did a U-turn on its support to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the country's president, now backing him wholeheartedly.

Samajwadi Party supports Pranab Mukherjee. He is a vidhwan (scholar) in politics and under the present national situation, he is the most suitable person to be the country's president, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh told reporters soon after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) endorsed the finance minister's name as its candidate for the presidential polls.

On Wednesday, Mulayam Singh had, along with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, virtually rejected the name of Mukherjee, a suggestion made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Asked why he had changed his opinion all of a sudden, the Samajwadi Party chief quipped: In politics, such questions are useless. As new situation emerges, decisions are taken.

Earlier, party leader Ram Gopal Yadav announced his party's support to Mukherjee.

SP will support him, he said. We will pray for his victory.

With this, Mulayam Singh and his party has in one deft move, ditched Banerjee on her effort to take along the Samajwadi Party to counter the Congress in the presidential polls.